Overview - ISO/TS 30407:2017 (Cost‑Per‑Hire)
ISO/TS 30407:2017 provides guidance for calculating and reporting Cost‑Per‑Hire (CPH) as a standard recruitment metric in human resource management. The Technical Specification defines methods to assemble accurate, transparent CPH measures that support budgeting, benchmarking and performance analysis of recruiting activities. Central themes are data quality, traceable sources (systems of record), periodic process audits and a clear visual display of inputs, processes and formulae.
Key topics and requirements
- Three CPH variants
- Cost‑Per‑Hire Internal (CPHI) - organization‑specific CPH using the sum of internal and external recruiting costs divided by the total number of hires in a period.
- Cost‑Per‑Hire Comparable (CPHC) - a constrained subset of costs designed for cross‑organization comparison.
- Hire‑Cost‑Ratio (HCR) - compares total hiring costs to the total first‑year compensation of new hires (costs relative to salary investment).
- Numerator and denominator rules
- Numerator: recruitment‑related external and internal cost factors (examples listed include advertising and marketing, background checks, and other sourcing/staffing expenses).
- Denominator: clearly defined count of hires for specified date ranges and hire types (guidance on which hires to include).
- Data governance and quality
- Use representative datasets and a transparent system of record.
- Minimize data errors and perform periodic audits of data input and compilation processes.
- Provide documentation of data sources, assumptions and the exact formula used.
- Segmentation and visual display
- Guidance for segmented CPH metrics (e.g., by role, level, geography), including how segmentation affects calculation and how to present segmented results to maximize transparency.
Practical applications and users
ISO/TS 30407:2017 is intended for HR leaders, talent acquisition managers, HR analysts, workforce planners, HRIS teams and procurement or finance staff involved in recruitment budgeting and vendor evaluation. Typical uses:
- Benchmarking recruiting costs internally or against peers
- Setting sourcing budgets and evaluating channel cost‑effectiveness
- Measuring recruiting process improvements or outsourcing decisions
- Supporting recruiter performance metrics and workforce planning
Related standards
- ISO 30400 - Human resource management - Vocabulary (normative reference)
- Developed by ISO/TC 260 (Human resource management)
Keywords: ISO/TS 30407:2017, Cost‑Per‑Hire, CPH, CPHI, CPHC, Hire‑Cost‑Ratio, HCR, human resource management, recruitment metrics, recruiting costs, data transparency, benchmarking.